As expected, Google I/O 2012 started off with a bang. After unveiling the Nexus Q, Nexus 7 tablet, and Android 4.1 Jellybean operating system, everyone broke into work sessions. At the end of the first day of meetings and presentations, my brain was abuzz with new ideas. And I was exhausted. But the night was not over, not by a long shot. Here is a recap from Wednesday night’s Google I/O After Hours party.

Riding the Mechanical Bull

After a delicious dinner at the Indian restaurant Chutney, we made our way to the party and realized that ordering that third serving of tikka masala might not have been the best idea. The band Train was already on stage and right as we pushed our way to the middle of the room, they finished their set. A little bummed that we’d missed the show, we walked over to the side of the expo hall towards the Madagascar Institute’s mechanical bull ride. Here, our Web Developer Jake Spurlock gets ready.

Robotic Snake: Titanoboa

The team that developed the Titanoboa was at the event showing off their massive metal snake. The body is made out of welded together custom fabricated metal joints. Each section has two hydraulic pistons that provide mobility, with each piston capable of delivering 7,000 newtons of force. The project took a year to design and an additional year to build. The last step is going to involve adding scales or a skin of some sort, within the next month, but the team is divided on whether to use translucent material or not.

The second performance of the night came from DJ Paul Oakenfold. We rushed to the front of the stage as the bass thundered out. The show included lights and lasers in the background with the three massive screens displaying live images and videos using the new Google+ Event feature. This allowed everyone at the party to take photos with their phone or tablet and instantly uploaded to the G+ After Hours Event page. Here are all the images from the Google I/O After Hours Event.

Quadcopters:

Toward the end of the night, Tyler Moskowite and I made our way to a large black cube of black mesh. Inside the mesh cage, a team of mechatronics students from Zurich were using autonomous quadcopters to build a brick tower. Using a triple redundant wireless connection system, the quadcopter vehicles communicate with the base stations and pick up a white foam brick where it then uses the local GPS network within the cage to determine its position. Watching the demonstration was so mesmerizing that Google had set up bean bag chairs so that attendees could sit and relax as the quadcopters buzzed about their job. By the end of the night, we were all tired and ready to walk back to our hotel. A perfect end to the first day of the conference.